Jonathan Chen Binks HPT Commerce Casino Main Event for $159K

The Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) completed its second stop of a four-stop Gold Rush series at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles that saw Jonathan Chen take down the Main Event title over a field of 583.

On his way to earning first place prize money of $159,780, Chen was the last player to enter the Main Event and also the last player seated with all the chips in front of him. On the tournament’s last hand, Chen managed to fade a straight draw by his opponent, David Rosenbloom, and hold on with his top pair.

Rosenbloom grabbed runner-up prize money of $112,010, telling HPT, “I’m very happy with how it all turned out.”

Leaderboard races in full swing

HPT’s Gold Rush series comes complete with a points competition that allows players to earn points based on their finishes in all events offered during the four California stops. The player who racks up the most points will cross the border into Nevada in November with a sponsorship package that calls for competition in a HPT Main Event in Las Vegas.

Another race hosted by HPT is for Player of the Year. Jeff Madsen was looking for at least a runner-up finish in order to take the lead in that competition.

Madsen got it in good with pocket aces, but the board delivered a couple queens to allow Chen to make a set with his A-Q. Madsen busted in eighth place and cashed $21,300. On being asked of the poker prowess of his HPT rivals, Madsen called his opponents “a good mix of recreational players, but also good players.”

New leader in career HPT cashes

One of those good players is Stan Jablonski, who landed in 40th place and grabbed a payday of $4,230. That finish allowed the Arizona native to overtake Craig Casino for most HPT career cashes. Jablonski’s lifetime earnings at HPT events now stands just shy of $250,000.

The HPT’s third Gold Rush stop is in Lincoln, California at the Thunder Valley Casino & Resort where the $1,650 Main Event gets underway tomorrow, Sept. 25. The fourth and final leg of the series is set for the Club One Casino in Fresno, with Main Event action kicking off on Oct. 3.

Charles Rettmuller

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Charles has been an avid poker player for a number of years, both live and online. He holds a degree in journalism and previously worked as a reporter for a Chicago-based newspaper. Charles joined the PokerUpdate team in early 2012 and writes daily news articles for the site.